Welcome to Kitchen Belleicious. My name is Jessica Maher and I am stay at home mom who is in love with her best friend/husband and who has been blessed with two amazingly wonderful beautiful boys. I left my corporate career to do what I love best and that is to be with my children each and everyday and to pursue my passion, my obsession- COOKING! I started this journey of Kitchen Belleicious to share my joy and spread the love so to speak with all of you!
My family is everything to me and like I mentioned and will continue to mention-my passion is cooking. Everyday I wake up thinking what should I cook next, a new dish or maybe a new twist on an old classic. I took a leap of faith doing this website because I have never considered myself a writer but I am so glad I have-otherwise I would have never had the chance to meet so many wonderful women and give them a little glimpse into my life as Kitchen Belleicious.
The term be fearless in the kitchen means exactly that. I want you all to know that it doesn’t matter if you know how to “cook” or if you are an experienced chef. Cooking is just an expression of love and a way to create or re-create something that is YOURS. The dish doesn’t have to taste like your moms or even mine for that matter. Make the dish taste like YOURS. Recipes are just a blue print for you to use as a go-by. If you don’t have paprika well then substitute it with your favorite spice, if you have a bunch of peaches on hand then make something up, toss some flour with oats and butter and you have a peach crisp on your hands! Just be fearless, try anything and everything with no hesitation and you will begin to find that you are one heck of a cook!
A little about myself. I love my Lord and Savior. Each day he gives me the strength to carry-on, to tackle a new obstacle or continue to pursue my passions in life. He is my one true obsession and without him I don’t know where I would be.
My husband has to be the most sweetest and loving man I know-besides my Dad! He is my rock and supports me in everything I do. He has and always will be there for me. I met him 11 years ago at LSU and I have had the time of my life since then sharing each day and moment with my soul mate. I know everyone says their husband is the best but this man truly is my dream and he makes me smile everyday.
Grant Thomas is my oldest son and he is so adorable, loving and funny. He is our blessing from the Lord and my heart melts each time he smiles at me. We do EVERYTHING together and I love watching him embrace life and learn new things. He loves his mommy but when he sees his Dad his eyes just light up and I can’t wait to watch their relationship flourish throughout his life. He is and always will be my little boy though and I just pray that the Lord will help me and guide me to make the best decisions for Grant. I want him to know the Lord and trust him with all his heart because although I wish I could be there for him all the time, I know a day will come when I have to let him walk on his own and only the Lord can take care of him.
Besides cooking, I absolutely love to play tennis, read and yes- although cliche-SHOP! I am what you might call-COMPETITIVE with tennis and I love the thrill of playing someone new and trying to win. Don’t get me wrong, I play for the fun of it too (sorta) but I do love me some winning!
Okay, so that pretty much sums up my life. Hope you feel like you know me a little better now and I look forward to getting to know each and every one of you!
Thanks for coming to my blog–I love your blog! This is going to sound crazy, but are you from Michigan? You look really familiar!
LOL, “Southern Girl,” I’m a little dense. Disregard my question
My husband is a (really good) tennis player too. I’m a great spectator; I like to say that I play line six.
Glad I found your blog- I’ll be coming back frequently!
Hi Jessica – Thanks so much for visiting my blog! Your is one of my favorites so I truly appreciate you taking the time to say hi. I see you live in Houston. I am a TEXAS girl. I grew up in Marshall, TX – went to Baylor then lived in Dallas then Katy, TX before we moved to Omaha, NE about 13 years ago. We love Omaha but I miss Texas!
It is nice to connect with you. I look forward to visiting your blog often! Susan
That is such a sweet pic…
Was it taken at the Memorial Park? 
Beautiful..
I just love everything about you, Jessica. After reading your ‘profile’ page, I know that you are truly a God-loving, family-loving, life-loving, beautiful and talented cook! I am so thrilled that you started your cooking blog. I hope that our friendship grows stronger through the years and that we continue to inspire each other in the recipes that we prepare with love for those we love!
Blessings, Roz
PS….I love, love, love the photo of your son. He is such a sweetie!
Beautiful blog! Thanks for sharing everything! I look forward to stopping back!
Beautiful family picture! Your parents look so young. And that boy is so cute!
Hi There!
So my business partners and I invented this new product and well…since we’re from Atlanta we thought that it might be something that you’d be interested in blogging about as a gift for all those husbands out there that love to grill.
Hope you’ll be able to help out some young and aspiring entrepreneurs!
We also have a press kit / pics, if you’re interested.
http://www.bbqpitbossbelt.com
Thanks!
Just found your blog. I am so looking forward to enjoying your recipes and tips. I am a longggg time stay at home Mom, I did it when it was really out of the norm. Quit my job with G.M. to raise my family…5 children in all. Their ages span 37 to 19. Thank you for your faith based blog.
Maryann
I am thrilled to have found this blog! I need to go cook now.
Dear Jessica,
Thank you for your support and visiting our blog. You have a beautiful family! We visit Charleston, SC alot and I hope we meet in person someday. We love your blog and recipes too!
Hi Jessica,
I realize your a larger blogger, but I presented you with the Versatile Blogger Award nonetheless: http://sports-glutton.com/2011/09/28/a-surprising-award/
Cheers!
Jed
I found your blog via my friend Nancy Vienneau’s lovely blog, Good Food Matters. I love your site and what a beautiful family you have. Good recipes, lots of fun family facts and all done so well. Best to you this Thanksgiving.
Just found your blog via my son who was looking for pizza recipes. What a great site! I will be back for more ….enjoyed myself looking around ! Cheers!
Jessica, I have nominated your blog for four blog awards. If you do not wish to be included, please respond to this comment and I will be more than happy to remove the link to your blog. J. Boudreaux, http://contemporarymusings.wordpress.com .
[...] Belleicious is a blog written and maintained by Jessica Maher. Jessica is one of Around the Plate’s Recipe Gurus and is a member of thePlate Community. As a [...]
I bumped into your blog as I was looking for creative kid-friendly recipes and was so entranced by both your recipes and your blogstyle. I nominated your blog for the Kreative blogger award. Here’s the link to it… http://globalfamilytreks.com/2012/05/06/kreative-blogger-award/. (If you’ve already been “awarded” it in the past, I hope you don’t mind the additional recognition). Cheers, Mel
Melody F. recently posted..Kreative Blogger Award
Lovely blog ! and beautiful family !
Cendriani recently posted..Gratin de framboises au Muscat de Rivesaltes
I write for yumsugar.com, a women’s website devoted to delicious recipes and food news. We would love to include your Oreo Muffins (http://www.kitchenbelleicious.com/2012/02/hot-chocolate-oreo-muffins.html) picture and recipe link for an Oreo recipe roundup. Would it be possible to have permission to post the photo on our website?
Thanks for your time! Please email me back to reply.
I would be honored! I must take a look at this site. It sounds wonderful. You definitely have my permission. Thank you for asking in advance.
[...] winner is Jessica. Congrats and enjoy your [...]